I use vacuum formed parts in my product line. The plastic parts are
made from .040" or .060" high impact polystyrene and .060" and .125"
ABS. My vacuum forming machines are made by Diacro and Q-Vac. I
purchase the materials as I need them so the moisture usually isn't a
problem. The Diacro machine is smaller but I have formed .125" ABS
parts 6" deep with this machine. My molds are made from hardwood and
sometimes I solder pieces of circuit board laminate together to make
the shape needed. Most of the molds I use are positive molds but I
almost always use negative (cavity) molds for the deep parts.
There are many homebrew designs for vacuum forming machines floating
around and they all work to some degree. The machines that work the
best are the ones with the best vacuum pumps. Using a shop vacuum will
work but they will not always form corners and crevices properly. If
you build your own machine get a rotary vane Gast vacuum pump as they
seem to work good for vacuum forming. I see them on ebay all the time.
Tom
--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, David McNab <rebirth@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Problem with enclosures - I find the enclosures I want, but they turn
> out to be unavailable here in NZ.
>
> Plenty overseas, but at the price of inflated handling/shipping charges,
> which for small quantities blows the price out hard.
>
> This makes me wonder about taking a DIY approach.
>
> Not wanting metal, or folded plastic etc. Needing a process which can
> produce reasonably attractive plastic cases.
>
> Has anyone had success in this field?
>
> If so, can you point me to any good sites for learning?
>
> I'm thinking of starting with perspex (called 'pexiglass' in some areas
> I believe).
>
> Cheers
> David
>